Tamil Nadu YouTuber Arrested For Raising Donations For Temple Renovations
Update: 2022-05-31 16:15 IST
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As per the police, a renowned YouTuber from Tamil Nadu was arrested in Chennai on Monday for allegedly gathering funds online reportedly for temple renovations under the jurisdiction of the Tamil Nadu government without permission from the authorities responsible.
Preliminary investigations revealed that, in addition to money acquired online, Karthick Gopinath has received approximately Rs 6 lakh in his personal bank account.
Gopinath claimed to be collecting donations for the repair and reconstruction of temples damaged by miscreants. They claimed he raised several lakhs without informing the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) department, which is in charge of the state's temples.
According to the Avadi police commissionerate, the executive officer of a temple in Siruvachur, near Perambalur, filed a complaint. According to the complaint, Gopinath created a YouTube channel in the name of Ilaya Bharatham and requested the public to donate money to the Milaap fundraising site under the premise of renovating statues of sub-temples of Arulmigu Madhura Kaliamman temple without approval from HR&CE department, reported The Indian Express.
Gopinath created a page on Milaap, a "free crowdsourcing" platform which shows that Rs 33.28 lakh has been gathered for the of "Siruvachur temple revival." The fundraising was done on the behalf of the idols of Siruvachur temple that have been vandalised.
Gopinath had lately written to the executive officer of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department, giving him the money raised for temple renovation. Meanwhile,'Ilaya Bharatham,' Gopinath's YouTube channel, has over 2 lakh subscribers. Thousands of people watch his videos, which generally criticise the DMK-led government.